Cartridge loading tool



Aug. 14, 1962 w. H. ENGLISH CARTRIDGE LOADING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1959 FlG 2 Aug. 14, 1962 w. H. ENGLISH CARTRIDGE LOADING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 11, 1959 INVENTOR. WILLIAM H. ENG LISH It'll FIG Aug. 14, 1962 w. H. ENGLISH CARTRIDGE LOADING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 11, 1959 WILLIAM H. ENGLISH IN V EN TOR.

Aug. 14, 1962 w. H. ENGLISH CARTRIDGE LOADING TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 11, 1959 FIG WILLIAM H. sususu INVENTOR.

FIG.. l2

3,049,044 CARTRIDGE LOADING TOOL William H. English, 4411 SW. 100th, Seattle, Wash. Filed May 11, 1959, Ser. No. 812,231 2 Claims. (Q1. 86-24) This present invention relates to the general art of hand held tools designed for the purpose of reloading fired cartridge cases. More particularly, this present invention has as its purpose the provision of a tool arranged to take advantage of the differential toggle principle to the end that with a relatively short and compact operating handle or lever very heavy pressures can be exerted upon the cartridge being worked.

This tool with its associated accessories will perform all the normal operations required in the reloading of fired cartridge cases or in the reforming of cartridge cases to a different caliber. Provision is made for a plunger to reciprocate within an enclosing tube under control of a hand lever. By making use of a plurality of accessories a cartridge case can first be de-primed. With the substitution of a suitable accessory the neck of the cartridge case can be expanded somewhat beyond its fired size, reduced in diameter, the head spacing shoulder can be repositioned and then by retraction of the expander member the neck of the cartridge can be expanded to an exact size which will then accommodate a standard bullet with sufiicient snugness to hold it in position, friction tight. With the substitution of a priming punch the case can then be reprimed with a fresh primer and is then all ready for charging with powder during which operation it is removed from the tool. A bullet seating die is then inserted in the movable ram and the cartridge case, mouth uppermost, is inserted in the tool and the bullet can then be seated to a predetermined depth with adjusting means available to provide various depths of seating as may be desirable.

In the past a great number of tools have been provided for the reloading of cartridges but there has been an ever increasing demand for tools that are easily carried about and do not require substantial work benches and the like for the securing of the same in usable position. In the past, beginning with the introduction of center fire cartridge cases, many types of reloading tools have been provided. On the whole these have been very slow to use and were not exacting in their operation. With the advent of the high pressure smokeless powder cartridges there has come a need for full length re-sizing of the fired cases so that they can again properly Work through the action and chamber in guns with which they are to be used. In the older tools suflicient pressure could not be applied to the cartridge case to achieve this result, which factor no doubt accounts for the large number of bench mounted reloading tools which by their great mass and long levers do make it possible to perform these operations. This present tool, however, while not performing these basic operations any better than the accepted types of the present day bench mounted reloading tools will actually perform the same operations and in some instances even give greater pressures in working the cartridge cases than the currently available types. At the same time the tool is light in weight and very compact so that it can be carried about in a manner which makes it possible for a shooter to carry his reloading tool with him any place it is convenient to carry his rifle and thus have the means always available for reloading his cartridge cases.

The principal object of this present invention therefore is to provide a cartridge reloading tool which will perform all the essential functions of a reloading tool and yet will be very compact and light in weight.

A further object of this invention is to provide a reloading tool with a relatively short operating lever which through the means of a difierential toggle actuating means for connecting the lever to the movable ram will give the relatively high pressures required in the reforming, resizing or re-head spacing of cartridge cases.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tool which is readily adaptable to a group of small accessory devices so that the full range of working cartridge cases with all the ramifications of the reloading operations can be successfully and easily achieved.

Further objects, advantages and capabilities will be apparent from the description and disclosure in the drawings, or may be compresended or are inherent in the device.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a cartridge reloading tool made after the teachings of this present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the priming rod used in repriming cartridge cases.

FLIG URE 3 is a side view partly in section showing the means employed for decapping or de-priming a cartridge case.

FIGURE 4 is an elevation showing this reloading tool with the operating lever in the carying position lying alongside of the main body of the tool.

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view as taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4 and showing a cartridge case that has just had its primer removed.

FIGURE 6 is a bracketed exploded view, partly in section illustrating the means employed for neck sizing, expanding, and re-expanding the cartridge case neck.

FIGURES 7 and 8 are sequential views showing the movement of the movable ram within the enclosing tubular bore or body and particularly illustrating the manner in which the extreme pressures are achieved by the differential toggle action.

FIGURE 9 is an elevation partly in section illustrating the means employed to seat a bullet in a cartridge.

FIGURE 10 is a partial longitudinal section view similar to FIGURE 5, illustrating the manner in which cartridge cases may be ful-length resized.

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary view illustrating the beginning of the resizing operation.

FIGURE 12 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the removal of a resized cartridge case from the resizing die.

Referring more particularly to the disclosure in the. drawings, numeral 12 designates the housing or main enclosing tube which in effect forms the principal framework of this reloading tool. The outside of tube 12 is preferably tubular in form except as it may be flattened or cut away to facilitate the working of the essential parts of the tool. upper end as at 14 to accommodate the reciprocating plunger or ram 16 which itself is cylindrical in form throughout most of its length. Tube 12; is counter bored as at 18 on an increased diameter to permit the introduc+ tion of the cartridge cases with greater ease and to increase the range of body size that can be handled by this tool. At its lower end tube 12 is threaded as at 20 to accommodate the shell holder 22. This member has a U-shaped under-cut groove at 24 which holds the cartridge case C against longitudinal movement throughout the majority of the operations involved in reloading. Exteriorly a second U-shaped under-cut groove is provided at 26. This is employed with the cartridge reversed therein during the primer seating operation.

.Pivotably secured to tube 12 are two toggle bars 30 and 32. These may be secured in a pivotable manner to tube 12 by any suitable means. Detents may be provided, or, for most operations the screws illustrated at 34 will be found very satisfactory.

At their opposite ends bars 30 and 32 are pivotably The interior of tube 12 is bored out at its.

speepaa secured to the operating handle 36 as by means of the bolt indicated at 38. A preferred length of bars and 32 between their end pivots is in the range of two to three times the distance between the pivots of handle 36. This relationship, illustrated throughout the accompanying drawings, provides a very favorable ratio for an effective differential toggle for use in this tool. Handle 36 is preferably formed after the showing of the various views in which an overhanging end portion 40 is employed to accept the pivot bolt 38 which secures the handle to the toggle arms 30 and 32. Near the pivot end, handle 36 is provided with a bifurcated outwardly extending lug 42 to accept the pivot pin 44 which in turn is preferably provided with a grooved end as 46 adapted to receive the securing spring 48. Pin 44 provides a pivotable connection between handle 36 and ram 16, the ram being flattened on each side as at 50 in order to fit between the spaced portions of the bifurcated lug 42.

In cross section the hand grip portion of handle 36 is arcuate in form having an interior groove throughout the major portion of its length of the same radius as the outer surface of tube 12. The outer surface of handle 36 is similarly curved and this provides that the handle can be brought in very close proximity to the tube 12 in the closed position at the same time a curved surface is presented so that the fingers of the operators hand can most comfortably apply the rather substantial pressure required. The extreme end of the handle 36 is turned outwardly as at 45 to assist in initially starting the swinging movement of handle 36.

Plunger 16 is threaded at one end as at 52 and provided with a threaded stop collar 54 which may be locked in adjusted position by means of the headless set screw 56. This permits of adjustment which is desirable in limiting the downward travel of ram 16 in the neck resizing operation and in the bullet seating operation. As is probably best illustrated in FIGURE 6 ram 16 is interiorly threaded at so that the accessory tools may be seated therein for the sequence of operations that is required in the reloading of a cartridge.

Adapted to seat within the interiorly threaded portion of ram 16 are the neck sizing die 64 and the bullet seating die holder 66. Die 64 is interiorly machined and hardened at 68 and is of a diameter to suit the cartridge it is to be used with, it being normally desirable that this diameter will decrease the exterior diameter of the cartridge case slightly so as to insure that when the neck expander 70 is pulled upwardly out of the cartridge case it will always have to slightly expand the cartridge case neck and in this manner an accurate diameter is given to the inside of the neck of the cartridge case which in turn insures that it will hold the bullet intended for the caliber in a friction tight manner. Members 64 and 66 are both interiorly threaded as at 72 and 74 so that they may readily accept other accessory tools. In the showing of FIGURE 6 the neck expander member 70 is exteriorly threaded at 76 to engage threads 72 and the adjusted position for the same can be readily achieved by means of a screw driver entered in kerf 78 after the device is partially assembled ready for use.

De-capping rod 82 may also threadedly engage threads 72. Die 64 is provided with a machine bore portion 84, this bore being a close tolerance fit to the body size of rod 82 and guides the same and makes it relatively easy to engage the primer ejection pin 86 into the flash hole of the cartridge after the showing of FIGURE 5 in which primer P is shown just after its removal and passage down bore 98. The flash hole is a relatively small opening which has been somewhat exaggerated in FIGURE 5 and unless alignment is definitely provided to insure a coaxial arrangement considerable time would be lost in the de-capping operation.

The neck holder and bullet seating member 66 shown in FIGURE 9 is provided with the exterior threads 88 adapted to engage interior 60 in ram 16 and is itself provided with the interior threading at 74 and a guide portion 90 which is accurately machined. This arrangement is desirable in order to provide an accurate concentric arrangement for the bullet seating die 92 and for guiding the primer seating rod 80. This rod has an increased diameter body 94 and a reduced diameter portion 96 adapted to snugly pass through bore 98 in member 22. During the bullet seating operation member 66 is substituted for the neck sizing die 64 as shown in FIG- URE 4 and with shell holder 22 in the same position.

Method of Operation Considering this is a small tool, having an overall length of 9 and a weight of 1% pounds, and intended for hand holding it is necessary to provide unusual leverage, if the operation is to be successfully handled without anchoring the housing or main enclosing tube 12, and providing a lever 36 of unusual length. Reference is made to FIGURES 1, 7, 8 and 11. In FIGURE 1, it will be apparent, it is believed, that as the end 45 of handle 36 is moved up or down as viewed in FIGURE 1 that it will move the reciprocating plunger 16 a proportionate amount. The maximum movement occurring when the handle is substantially as illustrated in FIGURE 1 and is at right angles to the axis of plunger 16. Referring to FIGURE 7, it will be noted that the handle is moved through substantially 25 degrees and the pivot bolt 38 is brought closer to alignment with the axis of plunger 16. This view also illustrates the two loci of pivot bolt 38, one indicated by the are 100, which is struck with a radius from the center of bolt 34 and are 102 struck with a radius from the center of pin 44. The path of pivot pin 44 is a straight one, along the longitudinal axis of plunger 16. Referring to FIGURE 8, handle 36 has been rotated through approximately 65 degrees. Pivot pin 44 has continued to move downwardly and bolt 38 is moving in closer to the axis of the plunger 16 and stop collar 54 is moved very close to tube 12. In FIG- URE 8 it is to be noted that as the movement of bolt 38 continues along the are that it will move above a line 106 which is normal to the axis of the tool and passing through the present center of bolt 38. Similarly, but in a reversed direction, pivot 44 Will continue to move downwardly as handle 36 is further revolved producing the travel increment equal to the maximum distance shown by the relative position of stop collar 54 and the end of tube 12. As handle 36 is revolved another 10 degrees to the position of FIGURE 11 arc 100 and line 106 tend to merge and there has been very little movement of collar 54 and tube 12. A differential action is therefore obtained Where bolt 38 is endeavoring to raise plunger 16, as shown in FIGURE 8, and the action in pivot 44 is endeavoring to lower the same. By selected proportions, the resultant of these movements can be predetermined in accordance with the pressure required and the actual mechanical advantage is proportional to the movement of the point where force is applied to lever 36 and the actual resulting movement given to plunger 16. It is this diiferential toggle arrangement that makes it possible to produce the tremendous pressure required for the various cartridge loading operations particularly the swedging of bullets and the full length resizing of cartridge cases. In use the tool must have the accessory tool elements used in coacting pairs in order to function. Normally screwed into the lower end of tube 12 is either the shell holder 22 or die member 110, depending on the operation involved. A coacting pair therefore becomes, for instance, shell holder 22 and decapping rod 82 or primer seater 80 or die 64 or neck expander member 70 or bullet seater 66. Another coacting pair involves resizing die 110 used with ram insert 112.

Full Length Resizing Referring to FIGURES 10, 11 and 12 in which is illustrated the manner in which a cartridge case is full-length resized, 110 designates a full-length resizing die and 112 a ram insert for use therewith. To assemble the various parts for this use, shell holder 22 is removed from threads 20 in tube 12 and replaced by die member 110 as illustrated in FIGURE 10. Ram insert 112 is threadedl engaged in the lower end of plunger 16, as viewed in FIGURE of the drawings. Member 112 should be adjustably positioned using preferably a size-d cartridge case having proper head spacing as a gauge. The adjustment is made with the various parts in the relative positions shown in FIGURE 10 and with handle 36 in the fully closed position of FIGURE 4. With the parts in adjusted position, handle 36 is raised lifting plunger 16 and plunger insert 112 so a shell to be resized may be inserted in die 110. The shell case will normally not fully enter the die and the ram is lowered until handle is fully closed after FIGURE 4. This step forces the shell fully into die 110 as shown in FIGURE 10 and the resizing is completed. The next step is to remove the snugly seated shell from die 110 and this is executed as shown in FIGURE 12. The die is removed from tube 12, and reversed in anvil 116, and a knock-out punch 118, employed with a hammer not shown, to start the shell out of die 110. Once started the tapered shell is then easily removed. This resizing equipment will handle all forms of head spacing in cartridge cases as shoulder seating rimless cases, rimmed cases or banded cases as shown in FIGURES 10 and 12 when properly adapted to the specific cartridge case being worked upon.

This tool having tremendous leverage may be used for other reloading and bullet making operations not illustrated or described to avoid repetition of operations. It requires normally that a coacting pair of tool parts be used for each operation. In resizing, ram insert 112 is used with a full length resizing die 110 as is illustrated in FIGURE 10. In FIGURE 5 the neck sizing die 64 is employed with shell holder 22. Many other combinations may be used but in all instances a tool part is secured to ram 16 so it may be operatively moved and a reactance tool part must be employed, as the shell holder 22 or full length resizing die 110.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and the disclosure in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a cartridge loading tool.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A hand held cartridge loading tool comprising: a main enclosing generally cylindrically shaped tube; said tube having a plunger receiving first bore at its upper end and a second bore axially aligned with said first bore adapted to receive the cartridge case to be reloaded; said second bore having cutaway portions, diametrically opposed to facilitate entry to said bore and interiorly threaded at its lower end portion; a reciprocating plunger having an upper end and an interiorly threaded end operatively disposed in said first bore; an operating handle pivotally secured at a point intermediate its length to said upper end of said plunger, thereby providing a handle portion at one side of said plunger and an overhanging end portion at the other side of said plunger; said handle portion having a U-shaped cross-section to receive the exterior of said tube; a parallel pair of toggle bars pivotally secured one to each side of said main enclosing tube at a point intermediate the length thereof and on a plane passing through the longitudinal axis of said tube and pivotally secured to the overhanging end portion of said operating handle; the distance between pivots on said bars being proportioned with respect to the distance between the pivots of said handle so that when said handle is in engagement with said tube the upper and lower pivots of said toggle bars and the pivot between said plunger and said operating handle are all in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said tube, and a plurality of coacting pairs of cartridge loading tool parts of which one of each pair is operatively secured in the threaded end of said plunger and the other of the coacting pair is secured in the threaded end of said main enclosing tube.

2. A cartridge loading tool as recited in claim 1 in which said toggle bars have a length between pivots in the range of two to three times the distance between the pivots of said handle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,502,824 Hueter July 29, 1924 1,933,940 Sutton Nov. 7, 1933 2,817,262 Laine Dec. 24, 1957 2,825,259 Novak Mar. 4, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 834,657 France Aug. 29, 1938 1,038,809 France May 13, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES The Shooters Bible, published by Stoeger Arms Corporation, 1940 edition, pages 298, 299 relied on. 

